Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 99(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 123(@200wpm)___ 99(@250wpm)___ 82(@300wpm)
I turn to go, mostly to put some distance between us before I do something stupid like rub my chest against his or even worse, kiss him. How in the world am I going to work with this man feeling the way I do about him?
CHAPTER 3
ELLIOTT
I knock on the door with a gentle touch because my nephew is probably sleeping. Normally, I’d walk in, but after walking in on my sister and my best friend, her now husband, in the middle of something the last time, I’m more cautious of just barging in.
My sister peeks her head around the corner and stares at me through the screen door. “Really, Elliott? When have you ever knocked? Come in.”
I open the door and stop right inside without making my way farther into the house. “Where’s RJ?”
“I was on my way over to your house. He’s with Rhett until the babysitter gets here. What are you doing here? Afraid I was skipping out on you?”
For months, this is what she said she wanted, and I hope she still feels the same because it’s done now. “I’ve hired someone to help you out.”
She stops from gathering up her things and looks at me with surprise. “You hired someone?”
I hold my hands up in front of me a little nervous because I can’t tell by the look on her face if she’s happy about this or mad. “Are you okay with that?”
She smiles at me, and it lights up her whole face. She does some kind of twirl and dances over to me. “Oh, big brother, you just made me very happy. When does she start? Who is it? Oh my God, this is amazing.”
I let out a sigh of relief and try to answer all her questions. “Her name is Camille Trotter.”
Her eyebrows raise. “The woman that works at Feed Haven?”
I nod. “That’s her.”
Maddie puts her hand on her hip. “Did you steal her from the Feed Haven? Are we going to have to find another place to get our feed?”
I shrug, not worried in the least. No one is going to turn our business away. We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars there. “I didn’t steal her.” I blow out a breath. I know this is not ideal, hiring a pregnant woman, but I don’t care, and I might as well get it all out in the open because I’m sure Maddie will hear about it anyway. “She was fired.”
Maddie crosses her arms over her chest. “She was fired?”
I nod.
She twirls her hand around, wanting me to give her the whole story. “And?”
I match her stance and cross my arms over my chest. I grit my teeth as I retell the story. “Camille was fired from the Feed Haven because she’s unwed and pregnant.”
Maddie shakes her head in confusion. “Uh, okay. Two things. Isn’t that illegal? To hell with that. I know it’s illegal.”
My stomach knots just thinking about it. “Yeah, well, I don’t think Wyatt has ever really been on the up and up with things, but the father is—”
Maddie interrupts me and scrunches up her nose. “Please, God don’t tell me Wyatt is the father.”
“Fuck no.” I ram my hand through my hair. “His nephew Raymond is the father.”
I can see her trying to recall who Raymond is, and it’s obvious as soon as she figures it out. “Uh, he’s married, right?”
I realize now I’m going about this the wrong way. I came over here to make sure she knew about Camille, but I’m fucking it all up. “Look, she didn’t know he was married. He fooled her, and she’s in a bad way. Wyatt has pretty much let everyone know in the community not to hire her. Trust me, you know I love the ranch and would never put it in jeopardy. Camille is a hard worker, and she can do the job. I just need you to be nice to her… please.”
I have my arms crossed over my chest again, and Maddie looks at me with her mouth hanging open. I know I’ve surprised her. I’m normally a man of few words, so my little tirade probably surprises her. Plus, the fact is, I’ve never hired anyone for the office before. Maddie has always taken care of that, so I’m sure the fact that I did actually hire someone surprises her too.
Maddie comes over to stand in front of me. The way she’s looking at me, it’s obvious she’s trying to read between the lines, and I’m not ready for that. She blows out a breath. “Okay, so I know you would never jeopardize the ranch. The ranch is everything to you.”
I shrug. At one time, I would have agreed with her on that, but now I’m not so sure. Now that I’ve raised my sister and she has her own family, I’ve come to realize that maybe it’s time I found something of my own. Before I can say anything, Maddie continues. “And I appreciate you hiring someone, but I’m starting to think you did this more for you than for me.”